5 Web design trends taking over 2017

1. Asymmetric design

Creative composition is in. Think broken, experimental layouts – not perfectly balanced and possibly even giving the effect of elements spilling off the screen. This look works great paired with transition effects – which builds layers of movement and creates a sense of page depth. Branding agency Taika Strom combine these design strategies to create an exciting and engaging one-page website.

Asymmetric layouts are a great way to create a unique, interesting, attention-grabbing web experience for your visitors. However, they do run the risk of looking chaotic, unbalanced or just plain “off”. For this reason it’s vital to use white space, colour, and movement wisely to ease page flow.

2. Unique graphics

2017 has seen more and more companies incorporating bespoke graphics into their websites. Elements include hand-drawn text, buttons, icons or even full header illustrations. Bespoke graphics are a great way to add personality and unique touches to your page – a refreshing change from purely digital design. Fragrance brand Flambette promote their natural handmade products with hand written header text.

Sketchy lines, shapes and illustrations can add a fun and nostalgic feel that charms your site visitors. Incorporate into header sections, alongside paragraphs of text to support your written content, or use to enhance your menus or price lists.

3. Bold typography

Clean, simple text styling has definitely proved popular in the past few years. More recently however, expressive, creative typography began to dominate – think heavier font faces, high-contrast font combinations, and imaginative animation effects. Austin Eastciders is a great example of font pairing done right.

Large fonts are great for big, bold statements about your products or services. This paired with good use of white space is the perfect recipe for creating marketing messages with impact. For tips on writing captivating copy for your website, check out this post: 7 Tips for creating super compelling web copy.

4. Colour experimentation

2017 is the year of creative, vibrant colour choices, with brands all over the web making big statements with vivid and daring colour schemes. Take Something Good festival, who perfectly promote their unique and creative event with a bright, abstract backdrop.

The Moonfruit editor includes a variety of dazzling website colour schemes you can apply to your website in a flash. When choosing your colour scheme, be aware that colour can affect your visitors’ emotions and ultimately your website conversion rate. We explore website colour schemes and colour application in detail here: How-to: Create the perfect website colour scheme.

Split layouts often display two contrasting elements. A bold, full-page image opposite an attention-grabbing headline for example is a great way to create a header section with impact. Remember, too much contrast can impact flow on the page, so it’s important to keep them unified in some way. This is often done through colour or typography.